Lana Stasek continues unraveling her thoughts and memories in her companion memoir Voices Within: Life Before and After. Like the first installment of her memoirs, Voices Within: Family Chronicles, this work reads more like a conversation than a traditional narrative. In Stasek’s own words, “The chapters here don’t connect. You can read them backwards, sideways, or not at all. This isn’t a novel. It’s memory — and memory has terrible manners.”

The theme of memory is a carry-over from the first installment, but it takes on new life this time. Non-linear storytelling makes the work as a whole feel more philosophical than Family Chronicles, with a clearer focus on Stasek’s thoughts and development throughout the years of her life.

While Stasek’s thoughts and experiences feel more centered in this installment, there is also a certain degree of explanation, with her signature voice speaking to her readers from every page. It seems that all the thought processes and exploration of her first memoir have come to a head, and now the reader must be presented with Stasek’s conclusions.

I think following Stasek’s advice and reading this book out of order is the most enjoyable way to approach it. Reading it linearly makes several of the shorter sections within the big chapters feel a bit repetitive, while following your interest as a reader and hopping between sections keeps the content feeling a bit fresher. Readers who prefer a more linear story may find this off-putting, but I found it to be an interesting way to experience the memoir. There are also some heavy topics discussed throughout the work, much like there were in the previous memoir, but it is explored matter-of-factly and with compassion.

I would recommend reading these memoirs back-to-back if possible. It is a rewarding journey to see the family history Stasek contends with and how she has approached life because of it. I think it also helps keep the author’s experiences straight in the reader’s mind, allowing them to navigate the second installment more intuitively. Both installments explore the author’s experiences and life philosophy, but readers who prefer a more philosophical take will find a lot to sit with in Voices Within: Life Before and After.

VOICES WITHIN: Life Before and After by Lana Stasek is a raw, unflinching memoir that moves from a harsh upbringing under Soviet-era pressures to the bewildering, humbling work of rebuilding a life after immigration, illness, and personal loss. Stasek writes with fierce clarity—telling exact, often uncomfortable scenes and owning her mistakes instead of polishing them into lessons—so the book reads like a candid conversation rather than a self-help manual. If you want a memoir that refuses easy comfort and instead gives clear-eyed honesty about pain, endurance, and what rebuilding really looks like, this one will reframe how you think about family, identity, and resilience.

As someone who was born and educated in Ukraine during the Soviet era, I could relate to many of Lana's descriptions of life in Ukraine; so much of it felt incredibly familiar to me.
Furthermore, I recognized Lana's description of starting a new life in America because I went through a similar experience myself many years ago. I recognized the same confusion and fear of the unknown, feeling overwhelmed by unfamiliar surroundings, struggling with the language barrier, and, above all, having the determination to overcome every obstacle and succeed, no matter what.
I especially loved the sense of humor that shines through in many of the chapters. I also loved the energy that runs throughout the entire book—it kept me engaged from beginning to end.